In a rush to offer clemency at the very end of his last term, Obama commuted the rest of Manning’s 35-year prison sentence for leaking classified military info to Wikileaks.

The clemency comes after a wave of support barraging the White House and begging to free Manning, including an open letter from Human Rights Watch, an online petition with over 100,000 signatures, and a viral social media campaign under the hashtag #HugsforChelsea.

The clemency also comes after NBC News reported that four former and current Army intelligence officers stated the documents Manning leaked paled in comparison to Edward Snowden’s leaks, calling Manning’s sentence “excessive”. Manning’s aunt also told the outlet she felt Chelsea was a scapegoat for Snowden, punishing one too harshly because they could not get the other.

All things considered, it’s most likely the president did it for his legacy, considering millions around the world pressured him to and after the Hillary email server fiasco, he would’ve looked like a complete monster if he didn’t.

Obama also let 64 other people out, mostly for non-violent drug offenses. If he really wanted to secure a legacy, Obama would let all of the people out of prison who are in there for non-violent marijuana-related “crimes,” considering the plant is now completely legal even for recreational use in eight states across the nation…

No word from Wikileaks other than the Tweet above acknowledging Manning’s victory. It is unclear what will happen next on that front.

H/t reader squodgy:

“I’m not convinced Julian has freedom of speech, but his promise to hand himself into US jurisdiction if Obama frees Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning (the person who released the film of the US Apache killing twelve Reuters Reporters ten years ago, which put Wikileaks on the World Stage) looks like developing.”